


peace and quiet

by mooselady



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Roommates, written for scaredcoffeebean's shitty roommates au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2015-03-06
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3488831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooselady/pseuds/mooselady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quiet night in the apartment</p>
            </blockquote>





	peace and quiet

**Author's Note:**

> [I wrote another one because I’m shipping trash and the shitty roommates au is probably one of my favorite things ever. I didn’t mean for this to turn out angsty lmao but angst likes to rear its ugly face in these made-up scenarios sometimes. I listened to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDyB9S_NEu0) the entire time I was writing this so I guess it sets the overall mood? Maybe?]
> 
>  
> 
> [magpielady.tumblr.com](https://magpielady.tumblr.com/)

Friday night, and the apartment was quiet, peaceful even, as Ava lay stretched out on the couch. She read the book in her hands with serene concentration, the dim light from the table-side lamp giving off a warm, relaxed glow. She remembered Gil telling her he’d be back late because he was tutoring, and Maggie was undoubtedly having a night out on the town. 

She didn’t bother to look up when she heard the click of the door unlocking. 

Odin trudged in, wiping his feet on the doormat. 

"H-hey," he said. He shrugged out of his jacket, placing it on the dining table along with his bag and keys. 

"Hey," Ava replied distractedly, flipping another page of her book. 

Odin walked into the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator door, the light illuminating the darkness. He rummaged around before sighing, then closing the door. 

His head poked from around the corner of the doorway. ”W-who ate my l-leftover rice?” he asked. Ava shrugged absently, still lost in the story. “Dunno,” she mumbled. 

He sighed in abysmal defeat, tossing his head to face the ceiling for dramatic effect. The tall boy shuffled into the living room, pausing at the foot of the couch. He placed his toes on his left heel, kicking off his shoe, then followed suit with his other shoe. Hunching over, he grumbled under his breath, crawling unto the couch and plopping himself on top of the petite redhead. His arms wrapped under her, his head resting pressed against her stomach. 

Ava lifted her book, looking down to see the mess of dark hair in front of her. She raised her brow inquiringly. 

"Long day?" she questioned. 

He nodded. 

The girl stared straight ahead, snapped her book shut, and promptly placed it on the side-table. 

She paused short, her eyes widening in horror, nose wrinkled in disgust. “Why do you smell like a dumpster??” she spat out. She pressed her nose to his hair then pulled back, making a noise of utter repulsion. 

Odin heaved out a muffled groan. “B-because I was j-just in a dumpster.”

Ava stared down at him in wait of an explanation. 

He continued, “It’s f-for an art p-project.” He rolled his face back and forth, smothering himself.

"Why…would you do that?" Ava pressed further. 

He looked up, violet eyes reflecting the light from the lamp. “I s-suffer for my art.” 

He buried his face back to her stomach. 

"That’s really disgusting Odin," she stated, patting his back. 

"A-a-and on top of that-that," he gestured wildly to the front door, "that PSYCHO neighbor P-Pedri is literally trying t-to kill me!" 

Ava stared off in confusion. “But…I thought…Pedri is really nice to me…” she added, “I mean sure, he’s always watching the apartment residents…and asking how our cat Wrathia is….and collecting dead animals off the side of the road…..” she trailed off. 

"O-oh my god," Odin grumbled in distress. "He’s going to f-fucking add me t-to his collection." 

Ava chuckled, placing her hand over her mouth. 

"I-if he tries to f-fight me, I’m calling you for b-backup," the boy informed. He lay still, letting his arm drop to the floor, absently picking at a thread of carpet. 

"Really? Why?" laughed Ava. 

"B-because you’re sc-scary as fuck when you’re mad," he remarked carelessly. 

Ava raised her eyebrows, a bit surprised. 

She cleared her throat. “I guess that’s true,” she replied.

It was quiet for awhile. The refrigerator hummed, cycling back to life. A tiny, speckled moth fluttered in a frenzy against the sliding back door. It abruptly stopped its berserk flight, crawling along the glass, then began again. Ava heard a rush of water from one of the pipes above them. 

She looked down at the still boy resting on her. He breathed slowly, his shoulder blades rising and falling gently. She was peering at the crown of his head, tufts of messy dark-ebony hair sticking out in disarrayed angles. He seemed so… _tired_. All the time, without fail. 

Her heart jumped when the question crossed her mind. 

She hesitated before asking gingerly, “Odin?”

"Hmm?" he murmured. 

"When’s the last time you slept?" 

The room was quiet. 

He heaved out a sigh. “T-tuesday?” he answered, his voice laced with uncertainty. 

"Today’s Friday," Ava stated flatly. 

"Wh-whoa, that must be a n-new record," he retorted. 

"I’m serious," she fretted. "Go to bed early tonight." 

He nodded once. The tall boy shifted his weight unto his hands, lifting himself up, his bones creaking and popping with the movement. He stood up. There was a smudge of something black, and probably disgusting, on the apple of his cheek. 

Ava contorted her face. 

"And take a shower," she insisted, reaching for her book. 

Odin pinched at his shirt, lowering his nose to it, then drew back suddenly in revolt. The redhead opened her book back to the page she stopped on, trying to find the sentence that would return her to the story. Odin turned, walking towards the washer in the closet. He reached behind him, pulling at the back of his shirt and heaving the fabric over his head. Ava’s eyes did a double take over the pale planes of his back before furiously averting them to her book. She brought it closer to her face, frantically trying to hide her blush. 

"H-hey where are the t-towels?" he asked, rummaging through the overhead cabinet. He directed his gaze back towards the girl. 

"I put them in the bathroom," she blurted out. 

"Th-thanks," he answered her, as he made his way across the room, towards the hallway. 

She heard him lumber into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it. 

Ava’s red face began to subside once she heard the shower being turned on, the muffled whine relenting into the sound of water hitting the fiberglass floor.

There was a melodramatic meow as Wrathia slunk into the living room, arching her back and stretching out her front paws. She glanced over at Ava, who looked up from her book to see the graceful tabby pounce unto the dining table. She sniffed delicately at Odin’s satchel before pawing it off the table. 

"Wrathia, no!" Ava pleaded, but it was too late. The bag fell unto the floor, its contents spilling out in a disarrayed mess. 

Ava sighed heavily, slamming her book unto the side table. She got up, scowling as she bent down to pick up the dropped clutter. Wrathia sidled away in satisfaction. 

"You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you," she mumbled, scooping up pencils and erasers and sharpeners and putting them back into the bag. She picked up Odin’s sketchbook and textbook, placing them back in their rightful spot, when a stray piece of paper fell out, nosediving to the ground. 

She lifted it, about to stick it back into the sketchbook, when her eyes grazed over the image. Her heart leapt in her chest, causing her to inhale sharply. 

The girl in this drawing was _her_ . The lines were smooth, delicate, drawn in pencil. She was looking slightly away from the viewer, a hint of a smile etched into her lips. There was a gentleness to her eyes, a glint of kindness. 

Ava didn’t know how long she looked at the portrait, mesmerized by the fact that she was looking at such an interpretation of _herself_. It wasn’t until she heard the jostle of the front door’s lock did she jerk herself back to cleaning up the mess. 

She scrambled everything, including the drawing, back into the bag, placing it on the dining table just as the door opened. 

Gil entered, smiling when he saw the much shorter girl standing a few feet from him. 

"How are you, Ava?" he asked, unraveling the scarf from his neck. 

"I’m good!" Ava exclaimed, a bit too loudly. "Good, great, fantastic." She rubbed her face, peering off to the side. "How was tutoring?" 

Gil pursed his lips. “It is going to be a long semester, let’s just put it that way,” he answered dryly. He looked over her shoulder and scoffed. 

"How do moths keep getting in here?" he implored to no one in particular. He walked to the back screen door, opening it, waving the desperate moth back into the cool night air. It fluttered away, tiny wings carrying it off to some new mission. 

He turned, smiling in satisfaction, before going into the kitchen. 

Ava breathed out a sigh, her eyes drifting to Odin’s bag. 

"Do you want a cup of tea?" Gil called from the kitchen. There was the sound of a cabinet shutting and porcelain clinking.

Ava startled, then answered, “Sure!” She wrung her closed hands together, edging to the kitchen to help prepare the tea. 

The image of the tall, lanky boy hunched over a piece of sketch paper, drawing her, thinking of her in shapes and lines and forms, made Ava’s stomach flip. 

Gil was right. This was going to be a long semester.


End file.
